€3,000 EPT Mystery Bounty
Day 1 Completed
2024 PokerStars EPT Barcelona
€3,000 EPT Mystery Bounty
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1
2024 PokerStars EPT Barcelona
Buy-in
€3,000
Prize Pool
€1,909,908
Entries
1,113
Level
37
Blinds
250,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
997
Players Left
254
Level 12
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
The PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona at Casino Barcelona continued today with its Day 1 flight of the €3,000 EPT Mystery Bounty. Over 12 Levels of play, a total of 997 entries took their seats to battle on the felt.
At the end of the night, 254 players bagged and tagged and will return for the Day 2 restart tomorrow afternoon. With late registration still open until the start of play tomorrow, this number is only expected to grow.
By the end of the day, Josep Valls emerged as the chip leader, amassing an impressive 518,000 chips over eight hours of play. Alexander Ivarsson is his closest competitor with 499,500 chips. Jerry Odeen finished in a distant third with 386,000 chips, trailing the leaders by over 100,000, while Spain's poker pro, Leo Margets, is just behind with 377,000 chips.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josep Valls | Spain | 518,000 | 259 |
| 2 | Alexander Ivarsson | Sweden | 499,500 | 250 |
| 3 | Jerry Odeen | Sweden | 386,000 | 193 |
| 4 | Leo Margets | Spain | 377,000 | 189 |
| 5 | Xiaohu Liu | China | 360,000 | 180 |
| 6 | Vlad Lache | Romania | 350,000 | 175 |
| 7 | Chad Lipton | United States | 324,500 | 162 |
| 8 | Alessio Di Cesare | Italy | 321,500 | 161 |
| 9 | Cherish Andrews | United States | 297,000 | 149 |
| 10 | Boris Kolev | Bulgaria | 293,000 | 147 |
Day 1 Action
Shiina Okamoto had an impressive showing today, rising to the top of the chip counts early in the day and eventually bagging 151,500, putting her in a strong position as the tournament progresses. Okamoto's stellar performance continues her outstanding 2024 campaign, during which she has already earned over $280,000, including a career-best payday of $171,732 from a first-place finish in July. Her momentum shows no signs of slowing down as she continues to build on her remarkable year.
Niklas Astedt entered the tournament during the final break of the day and swiftly made his presence felt. Showcasing why he is considered one of the top players in the game, Astedt rapidly accumulated over 170,000 chips by the end of Level 11 and finished the day with 225,000.
Ren Lin’s day was a wild ride, but not the kind he’d hoped for. In the final level, he fired four bullets but couldn’t seem to catch a break. At one point, he was calling for his opponent to catch the cards they needed—only to see his fortunes take a turn for the worse. Known as one of the most entertaining characters in the game, Lin’s dramatic rollercoaster of a day didn’t quite end in his favor. Nonetheless, his resilience suggests he might make another appearance on Day 2.
Other notable players who managed to advance to Day 2 include Pokerstars Ambassadors Fintan Hand (204,500), Kenny Hallaert (135,000), Barny Boatman (105,000), Lex Veldhuis (104,000), and Benjamin Spragg (89,000).
The play will commence on Thursday, September 5th at 12:30 p.m. local time. Those who progressed today or those to late register tomorrow will start proceedings on Level 13 with blinds at 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante.
At the start of Day 2, all players will be given a Mystery Bounty Token upon seating; if you eliminate a player you will collect their Mystery Bounty Token. Any time after 5:15 p.m. (the second break), players can take any collected tokens to the Mystery Bounty desk to draw an envelope. The Mystery Bounty prize amounts will be determined by tournament entries and remaining players and will be announced on the tournament floor tomorrow.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be back tomorrow to bring you more coverage of the European Poker Tour Mystery Bounty here at EPT Barcelona, so stay tuned.
Level 12
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
518,000 | |
|
||
|
499,500
224,500
|
224,500 |
|
386,000 | |
|
377,000
321,500
|
321,500 |
|
||
|
360,000
175,000
|
175,000 |
|
350,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
324,500
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
321,500 | |
|
297,000 | |
|
293,000 | |
|
292,000
259,500
|
259,500 |
|
259,000
24,000
|
24,000 |
|
255,500
255,500
|
255,500 |
|
254,000
29,000
|
29,000 |
|
251,500
1,500
|
1,500 |
|
250,000
46,000
|
46,000 |
|
247,500
247,500
|
247,500 |
|
241,500
241,500
|
241,500 |
|
239,000 | |
|
233,000 | |
|
227,500 | |
|
225,000
52,000
|
52,000 |
|
223,000
133,000
|
133,000 |
|
222,000 | |
|
220,000
37,500
|
37,500 |
Level 12
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
The 258 remaining players are bagging and tagging. Stay tuned to PokerNews for the full recap.
Level 12
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Alessandro Pichierri opened to 4,000 from under the gun. Daniel Guerras was the sole caller from middle position.
The K♦3♣9♥ flop was checked by both before Pichierri led for 3,000 on the 9♣ turn. Guerras made the call. Pichierri led again on the 5♥ river for 4,000. Guerras then put Pichierri all in for around 40,000 and was snap-called.
Guerras flashed 3♥3♦ for treys-full to Pichierri before tabling. Pichierri shuffled his cards before standing up and throwing them down at the runout. The dealer then revealed his cards to be Q♠9♠ for trips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
200,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 12
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Ren Lin had just taken his seat once again, and jammed for his 30,000 from early position and Felipe Morelli moved all in as well on the button for about 50,000.
Ren Lin: A♦10♣ 
Felipe Morelli: K♣Q♦
Lin was ahead but started calling for a king for Morelli to take the lead. It seemed to work as the K♥7♣3♥ flop hit the felt. Lin reached over to shake his hand as he said "Nice hand. Don't be nervous."
The K♠ fell on the turn, securing the knockout and the 9♥ river was just a formality.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
92,000
92,000
|
92,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 12
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
The tournament clock has been paused and the floor has announced four more hands will be played to conclude this Day 1.
Level 12
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
The action was caught as all the cards were tabled and the stacks were being verified. With approximately 40,000 in the middle and the full board reading 10♠6♥9♣2♣8♥, Frank Lagodich in the cutoff was all in and at risk for his effective stack of 52,000 against Fan Zhang, in middle position.
Frank Lagodich: 10♣10♥
Fan Zhang: Q♠J♥
Lagodich's flopped set fell behind the rivered straight of Zhang, sending him to the rail as the day approached its end.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
130,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 12
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
The pot stood at approximately 60,000 with two players looking at a board of 4♣3♣7♦5♥.
Tristan Bain, who was under the gun, checked the action to Ghadi Akari, in the hijack. Akari checked back.
The 4♥ river saw Bain take the lead for 18,000. Akari thought for some time before making the call. Bain tabled 9♥9♠, which was good enough to see Akari's cards into the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
150,000
130,500
|
130,500 |
|
75,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
Level 12
: Blinds 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante
Action was picked up with the cards on their backs. Ren Lin was all in and at risk versus the covering stack of Christian Rudolph.
Ren Lin: A♥6♠
Christian Rudolph: A♦K♠
Lin said, "fifty-fifty," as the flop of 9♥2♣3♣ was dealt. He couldn't find a six on the J♥ turn or 5♣ river and was sent to the rail, again.
Don't be surprised to see him register, again.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
65,000
65,000
|
65,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||